Bell’s Flying Car Will Be Available Via Uber by the ‘Mid-2020s’ – Manufacturer

Bell’s Nexus is its “air taxi” concept – a hybrid-electric propulsion aircraft using six tilting ducted fans to take off and land vertically from a rooftop or launchpad, the Verge reported.

READ MORE: The Flying Car is Coming and Japan Wants In On the Tarmac

Bell, known previously as Bell Helicopters, rebranded itself last year after having been one of the top manufacturers of commercial and military vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for decades. The company is most known for the production of the V-22 Osprey and the forthcoming V-280 Valor. However, now it wants to make electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft, with the Nexus as its first foray into that futuristic market.

Bell is aiming to have the Nexus in flight over a handful of major markets by the “mid-2020s” as a part of an agreement made with Uber back in 2017, said Scott Drennan, director of innovation at Bell.

“This is not a toy,” Drennan told The Verge. “This is an aircraft you would feel safe and comfortable bringing your family into.” The large ducts hide the rotors, which should help ease any anxiety from customers about losing a limb from its fast-spinning blades, or in other words, “people who aren’t accustomed to VTOL type aircraft,” Drennan said.

Last year, Bell unveiled the cabin of the then-unnamed air taxi, while this year it produced a scale model. However, a workable prototype won’t be constructed until the company is on the cusp of launching a real service.

Drennan said the Nexus will be able to seat five people and has a gross weight capacity of 600 pounds (272 kilograms). The hybrid engine would allow the aircraft to fly further and carry more weight than an all-electric one. 

“As we were looking at the available missions, whether it was air taxi, or logistics services, or even just applications in the military, we thought it was appropriate to get out into the longer range than just what the all-electric vehicles can do,” Drennan said.

Another reason for Bell to start the development of an electric or hybrid helicopter taxi is that is an attempt by Bell to adjust to the slide in global oil prices. Bell is owned by global aerospace conglomerate Textron, which also includes Cessna Aircraft, Beechcraft, and other flight companies, and Bell’s vector of development might show investors that the company is aiming towards the future.

However, only all-electric VTOL aircraft will be included in Uber’s air taxi service, said Mark Moore, engineering director of aviation at Uber, noting that the concept of Bell Nexus is an important “first step” toward an all-electric, fully commercial flying taxi service.

“This will permit testing to occur in the near-term, while the batteries are getting ready for all-electric solutions,” Moore said. “We’re very excited about what Bell is doing. There are many companies out there developing [eVTOL] demonstrators. At Uber, we’re facilitating this entirely new transportation system because we are the link to the users.”